| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
villain (ˈvɪlən) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a wicked or malevolent person |
| 2. | (in a novel, play, film, etc) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero |
| 3. | jocular often a mischievous person; rogue |
| 4. | slang (Brit) a criminal |
| 5. | history a variant spelling of villein |
| 6. | obsolete an uncouth person; boor |
| [C14: from Old French vilein serf, from Late Latin vīllānus worker on a country estate, from Latin: | |
| 'villainess | |
| —fem n | |
"The most important phases of the sense development of this word may be summed up as follows: 'inhabitant of a farm; peasant; churl, boor; clown; miser; knave, scoundrel.' Today both Fr. vilain and Eng. villain are used only in a pejorative sense." [Klein]Meaning "character in a novel, play, etc. whose evil motives or actions help drive the plot" is from 1822.